Liquid chromatography is a widely used technique for separation and analysis of chemical compounds. The basic principle of the chromatography technique is to let a test sample travel through a column containing a supporting medium, and there interact with substances of two different phases, namely a mobile phase and a stationary phase. Different sample components will interact to different degrees with the two phases, and those interacting more strongly with the stationary phase will eventually be lagging those preferring the mobile phase. The result is a separation of the test sample components during the passage of the column.
To detect the sample components as they leave the separation column, several detector techniques are employed.
So far, separate detectors have been used to detect different parameters of the sample components as they leave the separation column. If more when one parameter are to be measured, different detectors would have to be interconnected by means of e.g. a flexible tubing in order to carry out the measurement.